God created women as equally valuable to men and equally made in God’s image. Women and men are both called to honor God in all they do (1 Corinthians 10:31), including where and how they work. While ontologically men and women are equal, they are distinct in many ways. One of these ways is the order and role that God gave to men and women in the family. Men are called to love their families (Ephesians 5:25), provide for them (1 Timothy 5:8), and are held responsible for them (Ephesians 6:4). Women are called to manage and care for their household (Titus 2:3–5; 1 Timothy 5:14). Understanding all that, the Bible provides examples of women working both inside and outside the home. Whether a Christian woman should work outside the home depends on her family’s needs, her husband’s support, and God’s leading in her life. Ultimately, if a woman works outside the home, she should focus on glorifying God in all she does and honoring her commitment to her family. Each woman has the freedom to pursue work inside or outside the home, as long as her choices reflect her desire to serve God faithfully.
Women, like men, can greatly benefit from and provide great benefit to the world around them by working outside of the home. Though work has become toil (Genesis 3), it is part of God’s good design of creation (Genesis 1:28; 2:15–18). Working a job can be an opportunity to use one’s giftedness for the glory of the Lord and the benefit of others. Whether paid or unpaid, inside or outside the home, our labors can result in satisfaction as we use our skills and gifts according to our design. Work can also provide the qualitative joy of setting and reaching goals. Paid labor outside the home often provides opportunity for community and encouragement. Working outside the home might also expand the reach of one’s impact, allowing more or different people to benefit from the expertise and skill with which God has entrusted that individual. Working outside the home can also provide benefit for the home, whether that be through financial contribution, learning of skills on the job, different perspective, expanded community, setting a positive example, or the like.
A Christian woman has a lot to consider when deciding whether to work outside the home or not. Of highest priority is living to glorify God in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). A single Christian woman must consider where God is calling her to spend her time and talents, including work outside the home. A single Christian woman can use her gifts and talents to reflect Christ to the world, find fulfillment, and bring good wherever she works. A married Christian woman must consider those things along with what it looks like to do good toward her husband and to manage the household. This means her work outside the home comes secondary to her love and care for her household. A married Christian woman with children must consider all these things along with loving and caring for her children. If this woman works outside the home, she still needs to make sure the house is running smoothly—that her home is in order and that her husband and children are loved and taken care of. She may delegate tasks to other family members according to schedule and inclination, but it is still her responsibility to manage the household well.
It takes a lot of sacrifice to work outside the home, especially when finances are tight and a woman would rather be a stay-at-home mom, for example. It also takes a great deal of sacrifice to set aside one's education and workplace potential to care for those who do not have the capacity to appreciate the sacrifice. Whether a Christian woman should work outside the home depends on many factors: the family’s need, the husband and wife’s decision, the ages and stages of the children, and ultimately God's leading. Part of being a Christian is the freedom from worldly expectations—we should feel the freedom to live a modest lifestyle without two incomes, the freedom to accept God's validation over the world's, and the freedom to do what's best for our families despite the voices from either side. Whether a Christian woman works only inside her home or outside of it, she is called to find satisfaction and fulfillment in Him and to glorify Him in all she does.